Ky. HS bars grad speech on massacre

A VALEDICTORIAN speech that mentioned Marjory Stoneman Douglas students was too political for the administration at a Kentucky high school — so the student took it outside.

Christian Bales used a bullhorn to get his message across during the Holy Cross graduation ceremony in Covington on Friday. Bales (r.) was outside the auditorium, surrounded by students, as he made the speech.

“‘The young people will win’ is a mantra that I’m sure many of you have heard if you’ve been attentive to the media recently,” he said as he read from his cell phone, according to WCPO. “It’s a phrase adopted by the prolific (Marjory) Stoneman Douglas teenagers who are advocating for an agenda — our rights to feel secure as humans.”

The school barred Bales and Student Council President Katherine Frantz from making their speeches because they were political and “inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church,” Diocese of Covington spokesman Tim Fitzgerald said, according to ABC. Stoneman Douglas students have advocated for stronger gun laws after 17 people died in a shooting at the Florida school.